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Friday, 29 February 2008

and here it is the Merry Widow bracelet that I posted about yesterday, the sun came out and I was able to take some (more like a trillion!!!) shots :-)

I really like this bracelet.... lots of pearls, lots of textures.... I love how the matte black beads contrast with the colour and lustre of the pearls....

Yes! I'm happy with it! :-)

so next... has to be earrings!!! :-) haven't beaded anything today, as my son is home sick, but am glad that at least I managed to post this :-)

and I hope that after we go down to the park (he wasn't that sick after all! :-D) he'll be ready for a nap... and then... the beading frenzy can continue!!!! yeah!!!!!! :-) you must all think that I'm off my rocker... well... :-)

Thursday, 28 February 2008

So I'm still not getting anywhere with that piece .... it's driving me nuts!!!.... but in a good way ;-) well I keep making all these necklaces for it and I end up using the necklace and making a completely different piece out of it.... and I'm in the midst of a total beading frenzy.... I can't bead fast enough to keep up with all the ideas that are coming in my head... and there's not enough time in a day.... and I can't stop!!! so here is the first result of my beading frenzy, and I must say I'm very pleased with it... and I've already made a bracelet as well but will only post the photos tomorrow, as I run out of light by the time I finished the bracelet.... well now that's a productive day and a half!!!.... I rarely finish 2 pieces on the same day.... and I'm dying to make another one, but it's almost 10 pm and I know if I start now I will never get to sleep tonight... and sleep is a must, together with air, water and food! :-)

so here is another unexpected piece inspired by that piece that I'm yet to name and finish :-)

This one I've named "Merry Widow".... I really enjoyed making it, maybe because nothing went wrong :-)

Tuesday, 26 February 2008

Well... I've been making all sorts of crocheted ropes for the piece I'm working on..... and I'm not happy with any of them!!!! however... something good has come out of it all.... as I used one of those crocheted ropes to make a new bracelet!!!.... Yesterday I went to pick up my order of beads from Bogal Ltd. and of course that is always exiting, coming home with a bag-full of new beads!!! and I got these amazing flat mother-or-pearl discs amongst lots of other amazingly gorgeous stuff!!! I feel so unbeliveably inspired... and have so many ideas for the new beads.... but there are only 24 hours in a day and I need to sleep at least 4 of them away!!!!! arghhh.... yes, I did mention that I'm obsessed with beading, right?!? :-D

anyway those gorgeous mother-of-pearl discs + my crocheted rope and I had to create this bracelet.... it was screaming to be made.... so here is my unexpected but very inspired Black & Pearl Bangle....

now back to the drawing board trying to work something out for the other piece ;-p stay tuned! :-D

Sunday, 24 February 2008

OK... so I've had a stinking cold and a horrific migraine... and I've stayed away from the computer... but it doesn't mean that i have not been beading!!!! :-D I think i would have to be on my death bed before I would stop beading!!! :-)

anyway.... inspired by Eye of the Storm ... here's another pair of brick-stitched earrings... I really love experimenting with different colour combination, and different sizes and textures of beads using this technique.... Black & Pearl Blossom earrings, I just love making these!!!

and!!! I've started a new bead embroidered piece, also inspired by Eye of the Storm, although distancing itself from the original concept.... here are some photos of my progress... am still unsure about the title, so I'm leaving it blank for now :-) all the pearls used, including the fuchsia ones, are fresh-water pearls.

1. 2.

3. 4.

The centrepiece is almost finished... I'm just not sure how to edge and fringe it yet... will sleep on it tonight... and I've sort of worked out a necklace for it... probably crocheted.... but not 100% sure yet... you'll have to come back and see! :-)

I've been meaning to post this new photo of the Eye of the Storm necklace for a few days, but have been feeling quite sick, so have avoided being on the computer as the eye strain wasn't helping my migraine.... but here it is!!! I am so much happier with this photo than the other millions I took!!! :-)For more info on this piece see also previous posts: Stormy Weather and Eye of the Storm

Thursday, 21 February 2008

Another early awakening... this time because I was having a dream that someone was knocking at my window.... and I jumped.... out of my skin and out of my bed.... so here I am at 4.15 am.... posting my newest piece... at least the storms have past us and the weather forecasts beautiful spring weather from now on!!! :-) that makes me happy!!! :-D

As I mentioned yesterday, I am so pleased with this piece.... I really, really love it!!!! it just feels so good to finish off a piece and be 100% happy with it.... having said that I am less pleased with my photographing skills.... I must have taken hundreds (literally) of shots yesterday afternoon and the only one I'm happy with is the back view. I had a lot of problems capturing the focal cabochon. unless I got really close up to it, it just lost all its detail, depth, shine and beauty... I even tried to use Photoshop to bring out some of the cabochon's details, but to absolute no avail!!! If the weather permits, and if I'm in the mood, I'll try and take some more later (after the sun come up :-D), but in the mean time, here is my newest piece for the EtsyBeadweavers Stormy Weather Challenge.

Visit their blog and see all the entries for this challenge and vote for your favourite!!!! *Voting starts the 7th of March*.

Wednesday, 20 February 2008

It's 4.30 am here.... Jerusalem is covered with snow!!!! Stormy weathers all around.... I've been tossing and turning for the last 40 minutes or so.... I just can't seem to stay asleep past 4 am lately.... ok, the fact that almost every part of my body aches and that I'm feeling like total crap doesn't help too much!!!.... but I just can't seem to sleep... so rather than toss and turn for the next 2 hours, I thought I would start sharing my next challenge piece for the EtsyBeadweavers.

This month's challenge is Stormy Weather, and the day I was ready to start dealing with this challenge is the day the weather looked like this....

-So, I quickly went out on my balcony armed with my decrepit yet still functioning digital camera and shot the sky... I do love looking at storms from the inside of a cosy warm room even though I much prefer bright blue skies :-)

There is something very romantic, dramatic and beautiful about storms... I started searching the web for images of the "eye of the storm".... just to get a feel for it.... so thanks to modern technology and the practicality of using a digital camera rather than my old SLR and having to spend hours in my darkroom (that is now the storage room for all my son's toys) to develop the film, I was able to start on my piece straight away... the palette of colours was pretty obvious.... I knew exactly what palette I'd be using and which beads!!! I bought these beautiful vintage 30 mm milky white cabochons from Bead Friendly on Etsy and I have to be really honest, but at first when I received them, I thought I lost my mind for buying them, although they were beautiful, I had absolutely no idea what-so-ever what I was going to do with them and even worried that I made a mistake by buying them..... well, less than 2 months later and I've already used one, have plans for the second one and want to buy more!!!

-I knew I had to use the cabochon so I started a bead-embroidered centrepiece. Here are some photos of this piece. The centrepiece is finished, I'm now working on the necklace part... I was having quite a bit of a problem with the necklace.... I envisioned exactly what I wanted to do but I just couldn't get it right with the size of beads that I wanted to use, so I went for the same idea using a completly different method... originally I was going to crochet the necklace, but now I'm using tubular Herringbone Stitch, the twisted kind... I'm sooooo but SOOO pleased with how it all turned out that it was worth the complete waste of day yesterday, while I started and restarted option after option till I got to deciding to go with the herringbone stitch. I really, really LOVE this piece... and yes I know that I probably get this enthusiastic at almost all the pieces I finish... I do fall in love with them.... but this one I really, REALLY LOVE!!! :-D

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First I glued the cabochon to some black beadbacking I bought from Beadwright on Etsy, then I peyote stitched round the cabochon in these gorgeous tiny milky white Japanese cylinder beads and I was already 100% sure that it would work!!!! The rest I embroidered around the focal cabochon with Japanese squares, Japanese and Czech seeds, "Venezia" seeds and tiny 3 mm firepolish multicut Czech glass beads in different shades of black and grey.... as I said, the result I LOVE!!!!! and the result is "Eye of the Storm".

Am still finishing off the herringbone twisted necklace and hopefully I should be able to do that by today and if it's early enough, and the weather clears up a bit (at the moment it looks a bit like the pictures above, but even darker and more menacing) I'll be able to take a photo of the finished piece and post it here..... so come back soon to see the finished piece!!! :-D

Monday, 18 February 2008

Thank you to The Lone Beaderwho really made my day yesterday by honouring me with the You Make My Day Award.... couldn't have come at a better time as I've had a stinking cold for the last few days :-) But it is The Lone Beader that makes my day with her unbelivable beaded art, her work just blows my mind! :-)

and now it's my turn to pass it on to 5 other bloggers who have made my day... only 5?!?!?!?

ok, here goes....

1.Ixela (Italy) who makes my day with her wonderful blog (where she features different artists every day, including me), with her beautiful jewelry and with her friendship.

2. Sand Fibers (USA) who makes my day almost every day with her support, her kind words and encouragement and with her beautiful beadwoven jewelry.

3. Smadar's Treasure (Israel) who makes my day every time I go to her blog and find yet another amazing creation. Her beadwork and designs are just to die for!!!

4. Capitola Girl (USA) who makes my day with her lovely jewelry and great blog where she even featured my Sunflower earrings.

5. EtsyBeadweavers (International) who make my day every day with their amazing talent, beautiful beadwork, kind words.... just an amazing group of talented people all connected by their love of beading.

Saturday, 16 February 2008

Results are in!!!!A big thank you to all who voted and especially to all who voted for me!!!! :-)The top 2 were neck to neck... I was watching the voting and couldn't believe how close it was!!!Here are the top 3:

Friday, 15 February 2008

I've been meaning to make this treasury for a really long time... and finally I managed to grab one!!!

There's an amazing amount of talent in our tiny little country. These are just a few... sadly I was limited to only 12... hopefully I'll be making another one in the near future.... but for now, here it is:

You don't have to vote for one of my 2 pieces (of course I would be forever grateful if you did! ;-D).... you just have to vote for your favourite from the selection of gorgeous, intricate beadwork!!!! it literally takes less than 1 minute to vote!!! just chose your piece and click!!! and after voting you will be able to see the total of the votes.

Wednesday, 6 February 2008

I don't know what is happening.... but I can't stop making earrings.... is it the fact that i've learned a new technique and it's a good way to practice small or is it a direct reaction to having finished the "Sunfowers" bead embroidered collar??? and not wanting to commit myself to making anything that takes longer than 4 hours!!! :-)

Monday, 4 February 2008

I haven't done a treasury for ages.... just didn't get round to it, but I've been watching the treasuries for 24 hours straight... calculating the exact time I could pounce on one!!!.... it sounds crazy.... but what a rush!!!! :-) well what can I say my life as a single mum... doesn't get much more exiting than this! :-)anyway, I got one... and it would be great if you could all pop in and... click about and... maybe if it's not too much to ask.... maybe... leave a comment! :-)

I would post a screen print of the beautiful beadwork that I had a really hard time choosing.... but then you wouldn't need to actually go there and give your clicks! :-) now would you?! :-)

The treasury runs out Thursday 7th February.... so hurry!!! :-)

AND... If you want to see the finished piece.... :-) click: Sunflowers

P.S. for some reason my spell check doesn't seem to be working!!! which is a nightmare for me, cos I tend to make silly mistakes.... so if you find any, I apologise, but english is my 3rd language! :-)

Well... finally!!!! After a really long week.... first I wasn't feeling well... then I got a really bad eye infection and couldn't really see out of my right eye..... and just as my eye cleared, my son got the flu, high fever and.... as soon as that cleared he got some stomach bug!!! so he's been home, and I've had a really hard time trying to get anything done!!! + I haven't left the house in more than a week.... I feel imprisoned.... the weather is so beautiful outside and I'm stuck indoors!!!!! the only thing that is keeping me from total depression is the fact that my computer and my beading table are next to my balcony window/door... so the light coming in is lovely and the view is gorgeous... and I just look outside whenever claustophobia creeps up :-)

the view from my balcony is thankfully a beautiful open space....

and my sanity :-)

So, for all the above reasons, it's taken me the longest time EVER to finish off and post the embroidery collar progress!!!!

I've actually finished it!!!! :-D and will post it later....

but in the meantime.... here are the last steps.... before the end! ;-D

I CANNOT say that I'm sorry that this piece is

finished!!! it was definately a challenge!!!!!!! so I'm entering it in the EtsyBeadweavers Spring Break Challenge (voting info to follow in a few days)... and I'm actually looking forward to making some more "wearable" pieces (smaller ;-D)...

I honestly never thought it would get finished!!! but it is!!!!!! :-)

in case you would like to see the 2 previous posts regarding the progress of this piece:

Top left is the unfinished "finished" piece :-) top right is what the back looks like , not too pretty!! :-) and bottom left shows the cereal box cut out that I used to make the backing which will be sandwidched between the beadwork and the ultrasuede, bottom right the beadwork is glued to the ultrasuede and then carefully cut around the beadwork

now all there is left to do is brick stictch the ultrasuede to the beadwork.... fringe, decorate, embellish... and of course the fastening! :-)